Conference and Banqueting Management - Essay Example

Conference and banqueting Management Table of Contents Size and Scope of conference and banqueting industry in U.K. 3 Factors influencing developmentof conference and banqueting industry 8 References 12 Size and Scope of conference and banqueting industry in U.K. Hospitality sector is one of the largest and fastest growing groups of industries in the world. There are more than 46,000 guest houses and hotels in the United Kingdom and hotel industry contributes greatly towards the economy of the countries. The conference and banqueting sector has played a vital role among the hospitality industries of United Kingdom in the past decade. The conference and banqueting companies are latched with the hospitality sector in United Kingdom (Swarbrooke, 2012, p.110). The United Kingdom has experienced a positive thrust in the economic development. The emergence of banqueting and conference sector has resulted in the generation of huge employment in the entire U.K. The scope of hospitality industry in U.K. is very high. It has been recorded that the UK hospitality sector has generated employment for more than 1.6 million people. In Britain the hospitality industries play a crucial role towards the growth of employment as it is the third largest sector that provides employment. Most of the places in UK are also famous tourist spots and this factor attracts many people to the countries. The hotel and banqueting sector has helped to receive foreign capitals from tourists and business owners. It is clear that conference and banqueting companies have great advantages but there are some issues that are affecting the sustainability of the sector in UK. For example, the Venice Carnival has resulted in the increase of the level of pollution in the lagoons and the Adriatic Sea. The traffic and crowd control has increased the expenses of the government drastically. This factor has affected the banqueting business as government has initiated policies to protect the environment and water and reduce the pollution level by imposing some restrictions on people and banqueting businesses. Most of the catering companies act as a third party to the hotels and the restaurants. The catering companies also allow their employees to participate in events organized in hotels or private get-togethers and parties. In the modern world the catering business has received huge attention from people because the catering companies are easy to hire and they are capable of performing high standard service for costumers. Conference and banqueting managers and assistants offer their service to every customer during the progression of events and private functions such as parties, weddings, dinners, business functions, trainings, product launches and presentations. The business organizations prefer to hire the banqueting and catering services because they are easily available, efficient and cheap compared to the expensive hotels. Most of the banqueting and catering companies offer services in a fixed location wherein they are tied-up. For example, the Cheese Rolling Event in Gloucestershire takes place annually and the banqueting partners of the event are The Victoria and The Cross Hands. These two banqueting companies provide the pub facility to tourists and donate capital for the event in a village near to Shurdington. There are some conference and banqueting companies that act as external vendors and offer their services to locations that are desired by the clients. In United Kingdom there are several catering organizations that provide their services to thousands of customers every day (Rogers, 2004, p.51). The managers of the conference and banqueting industries play the most important role in the business however the assistants have got a significant role to play because they deal with the customers directly. The multinational organizations prefer to conduct product launches and commercial meetings in hotels and restaurants in order to maintain transparency and workability. Furthermore, organizations also prefer to hire conference and banqueting services because they want to make their employees happy by changing venues and locations. For these purposes conference and banqueting sector has gained popularity and the overall sector has tended to be a booming industry in the United Kingdom and many other part of the world. Assistants, managers and the business partners of conference and banqueting industries help in the development of catering and hospitality management. There are several organizations that have different type of organizational structures. Organizational structures play very important role in the development of the organization. It has been observed that most of the catering companies along with conference and banqueting sectors of UK have flat organizational structure. This kind of organizational management structure has helped the industries to overcome the challenges related to the growth of the industry. A flat organizational structure helps to bridge the gap between employees and management and maintain transparency in work. Flat organizational structures are very rare among the corporate sector except in hospitality management (Ingold, 2000, p.11). The conference and banqueting industry has a flat organizational structure because it allows employees to convey the issues faced by the clients to their managers. Since the managers of conference and banqueting industry have the authority to take any immediate decisions hence, the staffs of the sector must have the power to share their experiences and ideas related to their work Hotel industry and catering businesses work together because they are separate groups of the same sector. In order to enhance the catering business hotel industry must have sufficient clients that can help them to execute their business successfully. Catering business has become very famous in London and other parts of UK. The staffs of conference and banqueting industry in UK work for 40 hours in a week and they earn handsome wages compared to other countries (Davidson, 2012, p.22). The conference and banqueting sector of hospitality industry can either be owned directly or through franchises. People prefer to use franchise names because it reduces the investment on advertisements and marketing and increases the popularity of the franchise catering companies. It has been observed that the bookings for conference and presentations of different companies prefer to use the catering companies that are under famous franchise owners because it increases the faith on the catering companies and the employees. For example, the FM & Property Event has been one of the prominent business event conducted by the Celtic Manor Resort. The conference and banqueting company has satisfied global business client due to their ability to provide high quality food and service. High quality service is strongly desired by the business associates and corporate clients thus the industry’s major focus has been to hire highly skilled employees who are best suited for the job. The conference and banqueting industry has great scope in the market of United Kingdom. It has been estimated that the entire conference and banqueting industry’s worth is 18.8 billion Pounds to the economy of UK. This shows that there is great dependency of people towards this sector. Banqueting business aims highly at providing good quality food and service to a group of people for a certain event. In the modern world the amount of occasions have increased drastically due to which the conference and banqueting industry has gained the ability to serve a large population in UK (Novelli, 2007, p.17). Conference and banqueting sector has significantly developed in the past few years. In the year 2009, around 94 million people participated in the events. This shows that in an average 71 people attended in each event, which is a good number. In the year 2013, the number of participants on several occasions increased rapidly and it helped the industry to sustain and grow. The banqueting and conference companies not only provide services to business professionals and corporate clients but also to general people during marriage occasions or party events. The conference and banqueting industry has also played significant role towards socio-cultural aspects of UK. For example, The Banqueting House of London initially served for general occasions however it has gained sustainability by serving in the London Olympics in 2014. This shows that the conference and banqueting industry has gained diversity in the recent years which has resulted in the development of the entire sector in UK. Most of the events organized in UK are handled by catering companies because it reduces the burden of serving arrangement for guests. Apart from social events the banqueting and conference companies extend their service during training programs and recruitment programs of corporate sectors (Maxwell, 2004, p.81). It is not possible for the corporate management teams to conduct training or recruitment programs for people and look after their comfort at the same time. In order to avoid the complexities related to guest-management the catering companies are hired and they are allowed to look after the guests of the events. The employees of the catering sector should have excellent communication skills and customer management skills because it is highly expected by clients. In United Kingdom more than 6,650 conference and banqueting venues exists. The conference and banqueting companies are majorly tied-up with important hotel brands such as Marriot, Hilton etc. According to a recent survey it has been estimated that there are more than 9,001,053 meeting rooms in the entire UK which shows that the conference and banqueting industry is one of the major economy builders for the people of several countries (Lindsey, 2011, p.48). In order to develop different franchises and companies the catering owners have implemented some important strategies including discounts to clients and high pay-out to employees. In United Kingdom it has become very easy to order small banquet or food or book events. There are phone numbers available in the website of the companies. Some of the catering companies have also developed their own mobile app in order to extend the communication with customers. The conference and banqueting industry initially developed with the idea of organizing marriage functions and small events. Eventually the business conferences and business meetings have given the catering companies more importance because it helps them to reduce the work-load and enhance their creative thinking abilities, which would be beneficial for their organizations. Modern banquets allow people to taste different foreign foods and grow their knowledge about different dishes available in the world. Most of the conference and banquet companies provide rich quality food and firm quality service to their guests in order to make them happy and retain them. The conference, banqueting and catering sector is facing huge competition due to the emerging market (Smith, 2010, p.697). Since the business has been sustainable and it has growth perspective many capitalists have tried to invest in this sector and to become a part of the growing business. The catering companies not only enhance the economy by employing people but also indulge in CSR activities which have enhanced their values in the society. Factors influencing development of conference and banqueting industry The conference and banqueting sector has become one of the major industries in UK. In the past few years it has been observed that business travellers travel to UK in order to attend trade fairs, meetings and conferences on a daily basis. The development of conference and banqueting industry occurred due to continuous changes in the political and social policies of UK. There are several external factors that have influenced the development of conference and banqueting industry in UK. The political factors have influenced the development of the hospitality sector including the conference and banqueting industry. Since hospitality sector contributes greatly towards the economic development of UK therefore, the companies are politically supported by the government. For smooth execution of processes the government has implemented some security measures for the hotel industries. The conference and banqueting sectors not only provide service to the private owners or business clients; they also serve during government occasions and political gatherings (Marsh, 2012, p.22). Catering business has gained a lot of fame in the past few years and event managers are highly trusted for progression of conferences and social events. The economic factor has also resulted in the swift development of the conference and banqueting sector. The conference and banqueting companies exist across UK and they are highly valued by customers. The business firms and the marriage functions are generally targeted by the conference and banqueting sectors. The overall population of UK is growing gradually and it has resulted in the rise of the demand of conference and banqueting companies as well as the catering companies. Due to high demand the banqueting and conference companies are highly benefited by the bookings made by the customers. The business firms are the major clients for conference and banqueting sector. It has been observed that the majority of the bookings are done by the corporate clients on a daily basis. The government sector also organizes their meetings with the help of catering companies. Thus the conference and banqueting sector contributes highly towards the economy of UK. The hospitality industry also generates huge job opportunities for people and it helps in the development of the economic strength of the countries. Thus the economic factor has allowed the conference and banqueting sector to develop significantly. The social environment has also played a crucial role in the development of conference and banqueting industry. The conference and banqueting industry of UK has generated huge employment opportunities for people. There are many people who are working as assistants and managers of conference and banqueting companies and they are earning some capital to share their income with the society. The hospitality industry also actively participates in some CSR activities such as charity (Ferdinand, 2012, p.259). Social gatherings are also entertained by the hospitality sectors and many people are invited throughout in order to enjoy the grand parties and food provided by the hotel industries. This factor is very important because it has enhanced the social value of the entire hospitality industry including catering companies and conference and banqueting sectors. The technological factor has also been very important in the development process of conference and banqueting industry. It has been observed that the catering companies provide great services to corporate client during meetings and training programs. Conference and banqueting industries are also hired during product launches and brand endorsements. The conference and banqueting industry emphasizes on the hiring of skilful staffs who can meet the customer demands appropriately. The management of the conference and banqueting industry aim at providing excellent services to their clients. Several factors have been implemented by the hospitality industry in order to sustain in the competitive market. Successful customer services are provided by incorporating administrative procedures such as booking diaries, function sheets, discounting initiatives, space utilization, marketing consideration etc. The implementation of these strategies has helped in several ways for the development of the conference and banqueting industry. With the implementation of modern methods the experience of customers during the events are made outstanding. Every company of the conference and banqueting sector emphasizes on the technological and management strategies which has resulted in the development of the entire hospitality sector. The United Kingdom has become one of the most important players that drive conference industry worldwide. In the year 200, the International Congress and Convention Association found that UK hosted more than 8.8 percent of the total meetings held in the world. This figure majorly depicts the business conferences and meetings. This factor has placed UK among the top ten countries that organize global meetings in the world. According to a recent survey by British Conference Market Trends it has been observed that the entire UK market has turned up to become corporate in nature. The corporate nature of the UK market has resulted in development of the conference and banqueting sector significantly. Furthermore, the ability of the hospitality sector to generate employment and regulate economy has also influenced the developments. As discussed earlier, the political, economical, social and technological factors have been in favour of the entire hotel industry in UK. These factors have enhanced the positive significance of the conference and banquet sector. There are some contemporary issues that the conference and banqueting industry had to face in the past however the issues do not have much impact in the modern business environment. Previously business conferences and meetings were organized in official venues in order to avoid information sharing but in the modern world the challenges have reduced. The conference and banqueting companies are personalized by many organizations in order to maintain safety and security of information and people. References Davidson, R., 2012. Marketing Destinations and Venues for Conferences. New Jersey: Pearson. Ferdinand, N., 2012. Events Management. London: Routledge. Ingold, A., 2000. Yield Management. New York: Springer. Lindsey, K., 2011. Planning and Managing a Corporate Event. London: Cambridge University Press. Marsh, M., 2012. UK event management industry. London: Sage. Maxweel, G., 2004. Event Management. London: Kogan Page. Novelli, M., 2007. Niche Tourism. London: Oxford University Press. Rogers, T., 2004. Conferences and Conventions. London: Kogan Page. Smith, L., 2010. Events Management. London: Kogan Page. Swarbrooke, J., 2012. Business Travel and Tourism. 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